The 2026 AMA US Hard Enduro Championship kicked off with a win for FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart at the Motorcycles and Coffee King of the Motos.

Rocky canyons, loamy sand sections, and extreme downhill runs tested the racecraft of Pros and the endurance of amateurs at the 2026 KOM.

Race Director Justin Leineweber designed parts of the course in reverse of 2025, creating new features from familiar obstacles. From the rock gardens of the “Outer Limits” to the harrowing downhill at “Drop of Jack”, King of the Motos is where new competitors get baptised in dust, and experienced racers cultivate their skill.

The weather was brisk, but dry Saturday as racing commenced early, with the Pro Women and Amateur classes storming up “Chocolate Thunder”. Louise Forsley led the pack up the mountain as chaos formed behind her. “I’m usually ahead of the girls and so I set my sights on class A (men’s) riders.” she stated. The IRC Tire Beta rider wasn’t far off her goal, with only four A-class riders to finish ahead of her.

The first to the checkers was A-class rider Makana Barger. After holeshotting the second row start, he would battle fellow Hawaiian Boogie Rivera, all the way to the finish, edging him out by three seconds. Boogie, excited for Sunday stated: “The lap was just straight grind, no rest, just wide open, sketchy, and yeah, just trying to keep it on two wheels”.

Qualifier lap splits Hart and Webb by less than 1 second

The Pros had a different challenge awaiting them at “Super Fun Canyon”. PCI Race Radios put $1000 on the line for a single, timed run which didn’t forgive mistakes. Cody Webb came short by 8/10ths of a second. The winner, 2025 Champion Trystan Hart stated: “I think I wanted the $1000 more because I walked the whole track and he walked half of it. He was faster but I had a couple of sneaky lines on the part he didn’t walk and that made the difference”.

By the time the gate dropped on Sunday, the sun melted the morning chill. The smaller rider numbers kept “Chocolate Thunder” from bottlenecking. FMF Factory KTM’s Trystan Hart flew through the holeshot to a dominant first lap. “Once the gate dropped, I sprinted as fast as I could. It is hard to get away with the navigation and they caught me a couple of times but I kept going”. Trystan emerged victorious, despite the track biting  and breaking his shifter mid-course.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Ryder LeBlond second place was more hard fought. Fourth off the gate, Leblond made quick work of third place rider Braxton Hintze on the first hill. Cody Webb (second place) pulled ahead but a broken footpeg gave Leblond the edge to reel him back in.

“I broke into second halfway through the first lap. I think I gained a little bit on Trystan and maintained that gap for a lap or two, going into the last three laps. I had a four- or five-minute gap the whole time. If I was there maybe I could have made something happen but it was too big of a gap but I kept pushing”. Said LeBlond who was still happy with his performance.

Beta USA’s James Flynn claimed a creditable third overall, well adrift of second but esging out a tight battle for the final podium step with Matthew Green and Brandon Petrie – the latter were seconds apart at the finish.

Cody Webb fixed his footpeg and regrouped back up to P6 and first four-stroke home on the Yamaha.

2026 KOM Results

For full results: www.moto-tally.com/ushe/Results.aspx

Say what? Pro riders explain their races

KOM 2026 also debuted two new Pro classes with six-time champion Cody Webb victorious in the “Pro Four Stroke” class with teammate Riley Bender in tow. Aidan Manger taking the champagne in the “E-Moto” class but was the only entrant.

Makana Barger emerged victorious in the A-class, using strategy to get the edge. “I started off pretty good but I took a wrong turn. I turned my back and saw Boogie just blow right by me. I turned around, caught up to him but we ran into some traffic. I took a straight line and gave him a little block pass and got by him.” Makana stated, satisfied with his race.

The AMA National Hard Enduro season moves across the Pacific Ocean for the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro on February 20, 2026. The Garden Island Motorcycle Club on the island of Kauai will host US Hard Enduro for the third consecutive year.

More information: www.ushardenduro.com

Words Credit: Kyoshi Mckizzie

Photo Credit: Owen Gorsuch O.Go.Illustrated and Ryan McCasland Calafia Concepts